Mesut Ozil Uses World Cup Championship Bonus to Pay for Surgeries of 23 Brazilian Children

I realize you might be sick of World Cup posts, especially now that the 2014 FIFA World Cup is over. But this is a good one, I promise.

You see, before the World Cup even began, German midfielder Mesut Ozil donated money to pay for the surgeries of 11 Brazilian children—11 obviously being a symbolic figure, as that is the number of players on the field any given soccer team. It was part of the BigShoe project, an effort to raise money for medical procedures for needy children that began during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

However, after Ozil and his teammates won the World Cup, the Arsenal star decided to use his €300,000 championship bonus—about $405,000—to pay for the surgeries of an additional 12 children as a thank you to the people of Brazil for their hospitality during the tournament.